ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. 277 



the}' are seeking. When they get into the hunting grounds 

 of the adverse conjurer, they hide in scrubs or thickly 

 wooded or rocky places where he is likely to pass by. When 

 they see him, they " sing a spell " upon him in a low tone. 

 This is done to cause him to want to go about by himself, 

 unaccompanied by any of his relatives or friends. If they 

 see him climbing a tree they " sing " at him to cause him to 

 get giddy and fall to the ground. 



If this " singing " has not the desired effect and the 

 enemy persists in keeping in company of another man, one 

 of the invading muyulus takes off his belt, ngulya, and tears 

 it down the middle, "singing" while he does so. This is 

 supposed to cause the two men to part company, in the 

 same way that the belt is parted. It is believed that if a 

 man be alone he is more easily overcome by the "black art." 

 If they are fortunate enough to surprise their enemy when 

 he is separated from all his people, they approach him, 

 muttering incantations and pointing at him, and tell him 

 he has only so many moons to live. This generally so 

 terrifies him that he really believes he must die. 



In addition to being guided by the ngurrungarat powder 

 above mentioned, a muyulu or sorcerer will mount upon a 

 log, rock or leaning tree, and point one of his fighting 

 boomerangs first in one direction and then in another, until 

 he feels the weapon pulling toward a particular quarter. 

 Then he knows that the camp of the enemy whom he is 

 seeking is located in that direction. 



If a sorcerer obtain some of the excreta, hair, nails or 

 other part of an enemy's body, he takes it to a " squeaking 

 tree," mauaraty, and places it between the touching sur- 

 faces of the two branches causing the "squeak." When 

 the wind blows, this fragment is squeezed and ground to 

 atoms, and the owner is believed to suffer in the same way. 

 During the whole performance the old man " sings " toward 



